Ballon d'Or: A game of thrones

It was just over 11 months ago when Fabio Cannavaro (a former Ballon d’Or winner himself) opened an envelope with a small piece of paper which had the name of the best footballer player in the planet; the award as many predicted went to Lionel Messi for a record 4^th time. It is that time of the year again and the votes are being cast, but does the Ballon d’Or really determine the best player in the world?

If you were to ask me who the best player in the world is, the answer without a doubt would be the diminutive Argentine from Rosario. If you change that a bit and ask who the best player is in the last calendar year, the answer for me will be Franck Ribery. Because not only did he perform in the first half of the calendar year, but also in the latter half.

Well in that case, you may say, last year the Ballon d’Or should have gone to Cristiano Ronaldo and we could go on and on for a lifetime. The Ballon d’Or should be a celebration to celebrate the festival that is football and the artists that portray the game so wonderfully well but instead what it is doing is creating an unwanted rivalry between players and rifts between fans. The fact of the matter is it is hugely inconsistent, 1 year if they give it to a person who has scored the most no. of goals (ignoring the one who has led the team to numerous titles), the next they may reverse the roles. They really should define a clear set of rules as to what is considered and what is not in determining the best player in the world.

What we see now is if you would ask Deschamps to vote he would vote for Ribery a fellow countryman, if you would ask the Manchester United captain to vote he would vote for Ronaldo because he is a friend. It is really making a mockery of the players that perform exceptionally well throughout the year and deserve credit.

In my opinion – 1) they should define a clear set of rules and 2) They should have group discussion instead of a common vote say something like the critics award and the coaches/players award. This would really identify the ones who actually deserve it instead of players voting for their friends and who they ‘think’ is the best player in the world.

Now, who actually deserves the Ballon d’Or; The top 3 for me this year would be Cristiano Ronaldo , Ribery and Ibrahimovic though certainly not in that order. The usual suspects, the holy trio of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi do not make the cut this year. Messi though is still a cut above the rest as the best footballer alive but did not receive much game time. Xavi doesn’t look his old self and Iniesta has a bit of catching up to do. Another player who has done so wonderfully well is Uruguays all time leading goal scorer Luis Suarez; He was unceremoniously pipped to the golden boot award by Robin van Persie due to his vampiresque bite on Ivanovic last season. Therfore claiming the 3^rd spot in this year’s running is Ibracadabra. Consistently performing in the French capital, the acrobatic striker has caught the world and more importantly Engalnd’s attention with his superb bicycle towards the wee end of last year. The only demoting factor for Ibra is that consistently performing in the Ligue 1 doesn’t fetch the same marks as in England or Spain.

At a close second for me is Cristiano Ronaldo purely because he has gone missing from some games, mostly in the first half of the year and then come back with a bang. The hatrick against Sweden in the crunch World Cup qualifier clearly put him in the limelight but he should have led them to the World cup before the play off’s, as I mentioned he isn’t too far when an entrance is to be made. The Ballon d’or should clearly go to the player who has performed most consistently and in this way helped his team achieve their goals and Franck Ribery for me ticks all the boxes. Energetic, Hardworking and skilful on the ball, the man from France shone the brightest among all the diamonds of a well oiled German Machine. Even though France has also had to qualify for the WC through the playoffs, they played a game less than teams in all other groups and finished second only behind current world cup holders Spain which can be accepted.

Hence the Balon d’Or for the calendar year 2013 should rightly go to Franck Ribery. Here’s to hoping that FIFA lay down the gauntlet and celebrate the world’s most beautiful game rewarding the right players for their magnificent artistic abilities.